BREAST cancer cases in the UK have hit an all-time high with more than 40,000 women diagnosed with the disease each year, Cancer Re-search UK revealed yesterday.

BREAST cancer cases in the UK have hit an all-time high with more than 40,000 women diagnosed with the disease each year, Cancer Re-search UK revealed yesterday.

Merseyside reflects this trend with a rise in the number of women referred to the Linda McCartney Cancer Centre in Liverpool.

A spokesman for the centre said that despite the large numbers, staff were coping well with the demand for treatment.

He said: "Although the number of women needing treatment has risen, we have ensured most of them are seen within two weeks."

Latest figures show that

98.5pc of patients were seen within 14 days, while more than 80.5pc received treatment within a month.

The outlook for those diagnosed with breast cancer is now brighter, with more women being successfully treated than ever before.

Cancer research found that three out of four women survived for five years or longer after diagnosis.

Around 13,000 women died of breast cancer in 2001, which was a 21pc drop in the death rate over the last decade.

Professor Jack Cuzick, head of Cancer Research UK's Epidemiology, Mathematics and Statistics Department at the Wolf-son Institute for Preventive Medicine in London, said: "Tamoxifen has been in use for 20 years and the screening programme has been up and running for the last 15.

"These two advances alone account for significant improvements in survival."

He said there were complex reasons for the increased numbers of cases and scientists were only just beginning to understand the risk factors.

Levels of oestrogen seem to be important and it is known that obesity in post-menopausal women can raise the levels of the female hormone.

"We also know that levels of obesity have been rising stead-ily in the past decade and this may be contributing to the upward trend," he said.

"But many of the risk factors are either difficult or impossible to control - genes play a role, and it is known that both late menopause and the early onset of periods can increase the risk.

"We need to do more to understand the risk factors and develop preventative strategies."

Professor Robert Souhami, Cancer Research UK's clinical director, said: "The increase in the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer is a matter of concern.

"However, research is beginning to uncover the factors which affect risk, and knowing who is at risk and why is the first step towards prevention.

"In the meantime, early detection remains very important in preventing deaths from breast cancer and it is essential that women are aware of this and attend for screening when they are invited."

Figures published by the Office of National Statistics in 2000 showed that the lifetime risk of breast cancer was one in nine.